[deputydog]

I searched "welding" and could not come up with any help. Ive posted before, when bench welding CM it looks fairly nice, not exactly a stack of dimes but fair. I have a tendancy to flatten out or wash out the bead as I go along. I had a local chassis guy look at my welds and he said they had good penetration just washed out. I have Miller 180SD and run it around 90 amps on .083 CM. Less heat doesnt help.....very nerve racking trying to make them look nice escpecially welding upside down or hard to reach spots.....any ideas how to not wash out what little stack of dimes look I have?

Thanks

 

[Mario428]

Need some pics, I personally cannot help. My TIG skills need a lot of work.
But there are people who can, tough to get a nice closeup but try a few angles and show your welds.
Everybody will be nice, well most will.

 

[Tigman396]

90 amps seems a little hot , I would turn it down . I run around 70 on .083 on a Precision 185 any hotter and my weld turns gray and gets suck back . Hope this helps .

 

[camaro 77]

pics for sure and what are you using for filler rod

 

[CurleysRacecars]

If its washing out as youre going along...your keeping your pedal in the same spot throughout the weld. Remember, as youre going along, the CM is building heat from the welding process, so as you go along, you will need less heat input from the welder. In other words, you gotta watch the puddle as you go and when you see it starting to wash out, back off the pedal some and maybe add a little more filler.
Personally, I manually pulse with my foot. This keeps all the heat out that you dont need, and only gives heat input when you need it(when your about to add filler rod). It takes practice to get all the timing down right, but once you do its great. Keep practicing. Good luck!

 

[7817]

65-70 amps should be plenty.

 

[neetchracer]

Personally, I manually pulse with my foot. This keeps all the heat out that you dont need, and only gives heat input when you need it(when your about to add filler rod). It takes practice to get all the timing down right, but once you do its great. Keep practicing. Good luck!

Exactly what Kyle said. Doing it this way makes it simple after practicing to get nice color in your weld, and you can tell while your welding what the puddle is doing.

 

[mufflerguy]

If you do not maintain correct torch angle your beads will flatten out. Is this what you mean by wash out?

 

[deputydog]

Thanks everyone, I worked on it some today. Pulsing the pedal or backing off the heat seems to help alot and I can see, in the hard to reach spots where the torch angle is to much it washes out. When I say washed out, I mean it looks like I went over a nice stack of dimes bead with just the torch and blended them in, the weld is good just smooth.....I do need to get the feel for adding the rod and moving the torch, my stack of dimes seems very close, 1/16" or so. Ive read to move 1/8 at a time, when I do this the weld doesnt flow nice, like not enough heat. Ill post pics when I can...btw I set the welder at 90 amps and have the pedal slightly backed off 99% of the time.

Thanks again

 

[novakid85]

Personally, I manually pulse with my foot. This keeps all the heat out that you dont need, and only gives heat input when you need it(when your about to add filler rod). It takes practice to get all the timing down right, but once you do its great. Keep practicing. Good luck!

Exactly what Kyle said. Doing it this way makes it simple after practicing to get nice color in your weld, and you can tell while your welding what the puddle is doing.

i like this technique as well

 

[jdustu]

Thanks everyone, I worked on it some today. Pulsing the pedal or backing off the heat seems to help alot and I can see, in the hard to reach spots where the torch angle is to much it washes out. When I say washed out, I mean it looks like I went over a nice stack of dimes bead with just the torch and blended them in, the weld is good just smooth.....I do need to get the feel for adding the rod and moving the torch, my stack of dimes seems very close, 1/16" or so. Ive read to move 1/8 at a time, when I do this the weld doesnt flow nice, like not enough heat. Ill post pics when I can...btw I set the welder at 90 amps and have the pedal slightly backed off 99% of the time.

Thanks again

don't sweat the 1/8" versus the 1/16" movement. If quicker dabs work for you, go for it.

It's all about watching and reading the puddle. I couldn't tell you where my amps are most of the time, although it is nice to have it set close when you are in an uncomfortable position. Torch angle, speed, heat...all work together. It'll come in time.

 

[pro mod steve]

Check your CFH. Through trial and error I found I can alter weld bead profile with gas flow depending on cfh gas lense or non gas lense and actual cup size. Practice and take notes on cfh based on consumables used. I know there are averages of flow needed but I found through practice that cfh requirments can vary with torch consumables.